r/passportcanada

I submitted my passport for a name change a while ago and it was supposed to be picked up today, but I called them multiple times and only today did they tell me that they had a system error with my file and they need to make a new one. I leave on the 21st (this friday, in a day basically), and I genuinely have no idea what to do.

They said they'll have it ""probably"" by tomorrow (20th) but I just don't know if there's something I can be doing? If I miss my flight, am I able to get a reimbursment of some kind? I called at least twice last week and earlier this week inquiring about how it was going and they just said it was 'fine' but it turns out they didn't even have the file working in the first place. Not sure how they only discovered this today though :(

any advice? Sorry about the messy post, I have a really important, last-minute thingI have to make it to with my flight on Friday, i honestly don't even know how to work around this. I'm just so bummed.

Just wanted to summarize my experience getting passport renewal + name change for anyone who needs insight for upcoming passport services.

My passport expires in November but I recently did a name change, as well. My travel is September 12th.

On August 14th, I looked online and it said 20 business days and can just go to a regular Service Canada office. So, I went down to the Westlink Plaza office at 8:25am (it opens at 8:30) and there was already a large queue outside waiting to be let in. Probably 20-30 people deep. As soon as I went inside, there was a line host/triage person who was asking people their travel dates. When I told her September 12th, she said I would not get it in time because its 20 business days + 5 days for mail. Oops.

So, she sent me to the downtown location Service Canada office. I arrived there at 9:15am and there was already a full queue inside + 40-50 people waiting in the hallway. Once again, a line host/triage person was walking the queue and encouraging people to leave the line if they were open to waiting 20 business days and getting it by mail. Quite a few people left to go to the regular Service Canada location down the hall. The line host also explained that *Fridays and Mondays are their busiest days and the wait time would be about 2-3 hours*

It took approximately 40 minutes for me to get from the hallway line into the passport review line. I waited in the passport review line for another 45 minutes and then I waited to actually see a processing agent for another 30 minutes. My passport review took less than 5 minutes and he told me to come back on August 28th to pick it up. In total I was there for just under 2 hours.

TLDR; Avoid Edmonton Service Canada on Fridays and Mondays. Processing time by regular mail is 20 business days + 5 for mail times. There's two Passport locations in Canada place downtown -- one for urgent/10 day pick and one for mail in processing.

Has anyone applied first time passport for a kid in person on July 24 and review is still in progress? 😬

I applied for my sons passport July 3rd in person, other parent was contacted over a week ago (called just to confirm he spoke to the correct person since he is American and they confirmed he did.) I requested a file transfer August 3rd because my son is travelling to the US on the 25th. The person who I spoke to said the office isn't required to pick up the file, so what do I do? He said they could contact me anytime between the 3rd and the 21st but I'm starting to panic. Should I just go in person? Will that force them to pick up the file? They confirmed on the phone there's no reason for delay other than there's a back log of applications. I've called probably 6 times now trying to figure out what to do and they just keep telling me to wait. The person reviewing his application did call me and asked when his travel was and said it would be no problem...again that was almost 2 weeks ago.

Hi All,

Greetings,

We recently became Canadian citizens and applied for passport this week, what's the realistic timeline for regular delivery, our application was submitted in person

Just wondering if anyone's experienced this issue? I took my photos at Shoppers and received them on usb. They are under 5MB, 2400x3600 px, JPEG, and are unedited. The passport application website keeps complaining about how the file does not meet the requirements.

I've seen a few issues about the AI detection flagging perfectly okay photos but I can't even get to that step since it seems to think my file does not meet the formatting requirements. There's no option to bypass either. Does anyone have this issue as well?

Not sure if this is right sub but did anyone have experience getting a refund without a receipt? I just got mine rejected and I’m not sure where I put the receipt😭 I lowkey didn’t expect mine to be rejected the officer also said mine looked fine but apparently my hair was slightly covering my face

EDIT: apologies about the weird formatting/link showing.

This struck me as peculiar. I have a trip in December, but my passport expires April 2027 (going to Spain). Meaning I can't apply online until October. I don't mind doing so via regular mail, but I don't want to enter my CC details on paper if I can avoid it.

Anyone know the reasoning for this? Or just the Government of Canada not keeping up?

I’m thinking of traveling in sep or October and my passport expired at the end of September. I haven’t booked anything yet so I’m not in complete hurry but I’d still like to get it processed so I can start planning. I’m going in person next week and was wondering if they actually process things faster (10-20 business days) compared to online (up to 20 business days)

Update: just had mine and it got processed on the spot lol

I live in the US and my daughter and I were just granted citizenship through the C-3 ruling (we both have our citizenship certificates). We are about to apply for Canadian passports for the first time. I have three related/contingent questions:

1. Can I apply for a Canadian passport in person in Canada (we live just across the border), or do I need to apply through the mail because I'm considered to be "applying from the US" because that is where I currently live?

2. If I can apply for a passport in person in Canada, should I? In other words, are there benefits to applying in person vs. through the mail from the US? (E.g. faster, cheaper, easier).

3. If I can apply in person in Canada do I use the forms and process described for applying for a passport in Canada or for applying from the US (because that is where I currently live)?

Thanks!

I became citizen in the past few months
And I applied legal name change in Ontario
The name change certificate will be in my mailbox in next week

My question
Will the federal government accept my application with temporary driver license ?
I never applied Canadian passport before

The document / identity document I have when I submit the passport application

1. Citizenship certificate (with my old name )
2. Ontario temporary driver license paper ( new name )
3. Ontario name change certificate (old name > new name )
4. Foreign country passport (old name , and I will only change my name in Canada , my identity in home country will be the old name )
5. Ontario Driver license (card), but with my old name on it

I need to get the Canadian passport with my new name asap for legal purposes (family issue )
-

I know the safest way is to wait till the driver license (card) be arrived and then I apply for the passport.
But is there any chance they will accept the paper ID (new name ) + foreign passport (old name ) + name change certificate as a proof of identity when I submit the passport application?

Hi everyone! I was able to retrieve my cancelled passport after applying for a new passport and have a question.

Am I still able to use the cancelled passport as a photo ID even if its still valid or is that up to the discretion of the employer to decide? I currently need a government issued photo ID as my employer is requesting one and the only photo ID I currently have is my old passport that I was able to retrieve since my new passport is expected to come after my first day at work and need it before then.

I just got my Canadian passport today. I need to be in India on October 21st for an event. Not sure if the best thing to do is apply for an E-Visa or Entry Visa. Looks like with Entry Visa, showing a receipt of the Surrender certificate is enough but for the E-visa I need the actual certificate.

Does anyone have any recent experience with the timeline, and surrender certificate requirements for both E-Visa and/or Entry visa applications?

Hi everyone! I submitted my first Canadian passport application on July 9 in person to a Service Canada. The status has shown “review in progress” with no changes. When I checked today (August 13th), it says that they need more information.

I called their support number, and the agent asked me to confirm my shipping address because it’s different from my home address. She explained that they wanted to make sure I would be available to sign for the passport when it’s delivered.

She then asked if I had an upcoming travel date. I told her I’m travelling on September 6, and she recommended submitting a transfer request to make sure I receive my passport in time. She mentioned that the office likely wouldn’t contact me until a few days before my travel date.

Since I’m still a few weeks away from travelling, I’m wondering if there’s still a chance my passport could be processed normally and mailed to me before then, even though a transfer request has now been submitted. Or does submitting the transfer request mean that my application will now have to be handled by the passport office instead?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Did your passport end up arriving by mail before the transfer was actually needed?

I recently had a genuinely disappointing experience with the Canadian Passport Program, and honestly, at this point, it feels like a dark comedy.

First, my passport was sent to the completely wrong address. I was in the middle of moving cities when I applied. For my permanent home address, I entered my old address, but for my mailing address, I explicitly entered my new address. Naturally, they ignored the mailing address and shipped it straight to my old place. After waiting for 3 weeks and making multiple frustrating phone calls, they finally agreed to remail it to the correct address.

Fast forward through all that waiting: today, I finally got my passport after 2 full months. I was so relieved to rip open the package, only to find out they misspelled my name inside.

How is this even real? The customer support center is a total joke, just dishing out robotic, scripted replies with zero accountability. Now I have to go through the whole song and dance of sending in document proofs and essentially resubmitting.

One more reason to hate bloated goverment department!!!

I recently got my citizenship and applied for the passport at sevice canada on July 8th. I choose normal application since I didn't have any plans to travel. But now it looks like I will have to go on business trip on Aug 30th.

However acording to website, the normal application should take about 20 business days only. As of today, mine has already taken 25 business days and still stuck on review stage. I have tried to reach out to customer care and they said there's nothing wrong but they're just having delays.

I still have about 2 weeks before I need the passport. Is it worth to expedite by paying $45 fee and drive 2 hrs from my home to pickup? (Its absurd to pay extra for their delay and drive 4 hrs in total)

If someone recently applied their passport and received it, can you guys please share timelines?

Thanks in advance.

I submitted my application online month ago and I have not received any update. Is that normal? I cant check the status as I am getting 403 Error when I try to sign in.